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Politics

Bush's October Surprise?

Enter the Sea Smurfs &

On September 30, the Army Times reported that & "Beginning Oct. 1 for 12 months, the 1st Brigade Combat Team of the Army's 3rd Infantry, will be under the day-to-day control of U.S. Army North, the Army service component of Northern Command, as an on-call federal response force for natural or manmade emergencies and disasters, including terrorist attacks." & The article goes onto say that " They may be called upon to help with civil unrest and crowd control or to deal with potentially horrific scenarios such as massive poisoning and chaos in response to a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or high-yield explosive, or CBRNE, attack. They will be known as CBRNE Consequence Management Response Force or CCMRF. (pronounced "sea smurf.")

The sea-smurfs "will learn how to use the first ever non-lethal package that the Army has fielded, 1st BCT commander Col. Roger Cloutier said, referring to crowd and traffic control equipment and nonlethal weapons designed to subdue unruly or dangerous individuals without killing them." (A later clarification stated, "These non-lethal weapons would only be used in war- zones and not for any domestic purpose.") &

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Somehow this information doesn't make me feel any safer . Why now, when our armed forces are suffering such a manpower crisis?

Maybe they will be available to "protect voting precincts " to insure fraud free elections...you think? Or maybe we will need to be protected from exercising our rights as stated in the constitution. & You know...the ones that give us the right of free speech, free press, the right to petition, and freedom of assembly. &

Oh, but then there is the little matter of National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directives 51 and 20. These directives give the President unprecedented power and the ability to do anything he deems necessary to ensure & we will maintain an "enduring constitutional government."

John McCain and Sarah Palin's campaign of negative smears and outrageous charges does little to help their & chances for election. It does however succeed in feeding the basest instincts among us, and it diverts our attention from & the real crises at hand.

& The lack of transparency in the current administration has always been alarming. & Today it is more critical than ever for the public (that's you and me), to understand what is really going on in our government. & To fail to do so could be fatal to all that we hold dear.